brinoch

Slovenia is going to bunker/counter. They did it against Algeria -- who are a much worse team than the US -- and it's how they got here. I know there is speculation on places like BS that say they will come out aggressively, but I think they are smoking crack. They can't run with the US and even if they could, they don't want to. There's a reason the counter has been so dominant this WC -- it's safer to sit back and watch for openings to exploit.

Other than the economics, I know basically nothing about what's going on other than what I've read. But I do have to say that this thread has been both comedy gold and full of great information. I'm an Indiana fan and pro-Big Ten in rooting interest, but I don't really care if the Big Ten gets bigger if they don't get better. Adding Nebraska seems like a good move. But unless a school is worth it I leave well enough alone; bigger doesn't necessarily mean better.

DC cabbies were notorious for over-charging. The city had this silly zone system where the cost of the ride was based on how many zones you crossed. Well, you can imagine how this was abused.

Folks, if you don't like soccer, that's okay -- but I really don't need to read multiple pages about how boring it is. Those of us who love soccer are just as confused as to the low scoring trend as those who find it boring. I wonder if players really are having a hard time hearing each other and Patrice Evra isn't just being a douche. I hate the vuvuzelas and find them to be really, really lame. Ban them, please.

It's Larrionda -- of 2006 Italy-USA fame and 2009 Confederations Cup fame. He gave 3 reds to Americans in those games (Mastroeni, Pope and Bradley). He's awful.

It really should have been. He got away with one there -- and he already has a yellow, too.

Paraguay score!! Sweet.

Hate that guy. This is why FIFA needs to dole out yellow cards after matches for blatant dives (as well as taking yellow cards away for dives that weren't). The NBA will rescind technicals and change flagrant foul calls after the fact so I don't see what would be so wrong about doing a similar thing in soccer. the problem with doing this is that italy probably wouldn't be able to field a team after the first round. That's not a problem.

Paraguay keep giving it up too cheaply in the middle. If they keep it up, it'll eventually cost them. And we don't want that.

Nice goal by Japan. They look pretty good, all in all.

Gerrard not being on the left made the English side far more static. The loss of Barry and the absence of Hargreaves really hurt them tactically. Gerrard on the left would pinch in, forcing Rooney left and Cole upfield, creating far more movement. It's worth noting that the only real move they had involving supporting runs was Gerrard's goal. They essentially played a typical English game-get it wide, bang crosses in or hit it over the top. Unfortunately for them, the one direct play they had released their worst striker 1 v1. If that's your game, I would make sure that you had Crouch on the field, rather than Heskey. I might even do something like this: ------Crouch-------------Heskey------- -(Rooney doing whatever he wants)- ----Gerrard---Lampard--------Lennon /\ | Cole------Terry-------King----Johnson

That's not a red. Bad call.

Findley got the third yellow, not Bradley. My changes: Buddle for Findley, Torres for Clark. I would not put in Goodson and Specs. Keep the same back line and hope they keep gelling. ------------Jozy-----Buddle--------- Deuce--------Bradley------Donovan ---------------Torres---------------- Boca-----Gooch----DeMerit---Dolo ---------------Howard--------------- Provided Timmy is okay, of course. There's speculation that he broke ribs, but Bradley seemed to down play it.

I wasn't all that impressed with Slovenia. Even when they were bunkering, they were vulnerable.

I think Capello underestimated the US. Despite months of saying they wouldn't, I think he did. How else do you explain putting Milner on the wing and using the terrible Lampard/Gerrard partnership?

They should advance out of the group stage. If they don't, it would be a huge disappointment. With a decent draw in the round of 16 (our opposing group is D with Germany, Serbia, Ghana and Australia), they stand a decent chance to make the quarters. The USMNT are generally considered to be a good, but not great national team. They aren't on the level of England, for example. We're generally ranked in the mid-teens by fairly decent ranking systems, though it's pretty tough to come up with a realistic ranking for national teams given how rarely there are international competitions and the coaches and players change dramatically. In addition, teams often experiment in friendlies (like USA vs. Czechs). We're not a top team -- I think those would be Brazil, Spain, England, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, France (not for long though) and probably Chile. But, we can hang with the big boys and sometimes get a result. There's a clump of teams on a similar level to us -- including probably Chile and France. They are teams like Mexico, Uruguay, Serbia, Australia (we are better than they are), Denmark, Cote d'Ivoire, Paraguay, and probably Switzerland. Seeing how well we played against Australia re-opened my eyes to how bad Asia is. Of the teams that have played, I think we're generally a better team than Korea, Greece, RSA, and Nigeria. Matches against Mexico, France, and Uruguay could go either way. Argentina and England are better than we are, but Argentina could really flame out since their coach is a moron. But like today showed, you can't take anything for granted. It's one game, and crazy things happen. We could lose to Slovenia or Algeria on a bad day.

That is hysterical.

Yes. Suck it, Limeys.

That's great and all, and I like Nate, but when it comes to soccer I (and a host of others) know a lot more than you think we do. Besides, even if we just stipulate his 9% number, that is still a significant increase. Moreover, you haven't rebutted the points that US, Wolf and I have made regarding England playing the rest of the matches.

Jesus Christ. We just frickin' tied England and we're arguing here? Kyle, I'm sorry. I'm not being condescending here, but you're just plain wrong. This increases our chances of advancing significantly. Not only do we have a point (and are tied with the best team in the group after 1/3 of games), but in order to assure that they advance, England need to win out. They will have to go balls to the wall against Slovenia. Had England won today, they could have rested somewhat against Slovenia in their third match -- a match we probably would have needed England to win. It also means that we control our own destiny. If the US win the next two, they are through. Let's root for a 0-0 tie tomorrow morning -- or, failing that, an Algeria win.

I know, probably will be banned Not really. Besides, you are positively Spock-like compared to Sulley. :D

I think Tab's a little light on the amount that Hjalmarsson and Niemi will get. I can buy the reasoning that Niemi won't get all that much (largely because Bowman comes from the Detroit school of not overpaying for goaltending), but Hammer has a lot of value. Huet is definitely going to the minors (Europe). Sopel is *probably* moveable, but you aren't going to get anything in return -- and he's only moveable because his contract is expiring after next season. Even then, I think you might very well have to package Sopel with a prospect or one of Versteeg or Buff. And there will be a market for Buff and Versteeg. I could Toronto being a decent partner for the Hawks. Same with Florida. Boston absolutely needs scoring which should make Versteeg attractive to them. My Caps friends say a guy like Ladd would be great for them.

Part of me things they missed their chance today, though I hope I'm wrong. They could have gone up 2-0 but the player couldn't put the ball on frame and then they had a breakaway sent off the post at 1-1 late in the game. I hope so, too. Personally, I really thought Mexico and RSA looked better than either of France or Uruguay. France should be good with their talent, but they weren't. Maybe they can turn it on. Uruguay was playing for the draw, and France just couldn't pick them apart.

Personally, I would absolutely move Byfuglien and Versteeg. I don't think their value will ever be higher. If you can get great value for Bolland, I would do so. If anyone signs Niemi to an offer sheet, let him go. Keep Hjalmarsson at all costs. If you can keep Ladd on the cheap, do so.

If it's true that $4M is on next year's cap, we'll have to move another player... simple as that. Byfuglien or Bolland would have to go. The simple fact is that we're going to have to move several young players who were key contributers. Either that or find a taker for Campbell -- and then we'll need to find a solid, puck-moving defenseman/PPQB to replace him.